Radio, Television, Humour, Pictures, Music, Life the Universe anything goes from the Wireless Waffler living in the wonderful country called England

Radio Newsbeat

Waffler

Looking at the news below I am reminded that I used to be able to listen to Resonance FM on the FM dial when I lived on the outskirts of London. An amazing station with many innovative programmes. I must remember to “tune into them on the Internet one day”.

It will be interesting to hear what Virgin Radio will sound like when it returns to the airwaves in March.

I am still amazed that I had to sell my DAB radio after moving to the Oxfordshire borders. The Pure Evoke Radio I had gave good service in London and picked up stations very well. It turned “deaf” here! I sold it on eBay and the buyer was very pleased with it, they could receive programmes. Then as described, possibly before, I bought a Sony AM FM DAB radio at a Sue Ryder charity sale, and that brings in all of the BBC and commercial stations I need. I quite often dip into the BBC World Service, Radio 4, LBC and Jack FM whilst cooking. The aerial of the DAB radio is not connected to another wire. I have run an old speaker wire over a Roman blind in the kitchen. That being behind the telescopic aerial boosts reception and nulls out that hideous glitching that can occur if a signal is weak

Selected from the Radio Today website

Two of Bauer’s radio stations merged at 4pm Thursday after a problem at One Golden Square.

The output of digital station heat was heard on Planet Rock, complete with heat idents and a top of the hour opener by Rihanna.

30 seconds after Rihannastarted, Planet Rock’s Music News with Paul Anthony started playing over the top of the pop song We Found Love.

A mash up of guitars and dance beats followed until the fail was fixed around six minutes past the hour.

Richard Wilkinson has been appointed Head of Music for the new national DAB station Virgin Radio.

Richard was previously Head of Music for Scotland’s Beat 106 and Head of Programming for Forth One. He has also worked as a consultant for Virgin Radio stations in Thailand, Indonesia and Lebanon and has spent time at both BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6Music in his career.

Richard said: “I am tremendously excited to be part of the team – the brand has an incredible heritage that people absolutely love, so it’s an honour to be asked to put together the station’s playlist. Having worked with the Virgin brand for over 13 years, I can’t wait to bring it back to the UK.”

The Virgin Radio brand will be back in the UK in March, although an exact launch date has not yet been announced.

Liam Thompson, Programme Director for Virgin Radio, said: “Richard has a wealth of experience and depth of music knowledge, which makes him the perfect person to develop a unique music policy for Virgin Radio. It’s great to have him on board as we look to the station’s launch this March.”

They will join Primal Scream, Tricky presents Skilled Mechanics, The Blue Aeroplanes, Sherwood & Pinch, and Roni Size & DJ Krust present Full Cycle, who were announced before Christmas when Bristol was unveiled as the location for this year’s Festival.

Additionally, on Saturday 13 February, as part of the Colston Hall line-up on the Concourse Stage, 6 Music presenter Don Letts curates seven hours of DJ performances showcasing the evolution of Bass culture which will include Dennis Bovell, Ray Mighty, and Massive Attack’s tour DJ Queen Bee.

And on Sunday 14 February the Concourse Stage features a line-up of DJ sets from Mount Kimbie, Matthew Herbert, Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve, and 6 Music presenter Gilles Peterson.

The third year of the Festival will see over 50 acts across three days delivering live music, conversation, comedy and more taking place at venues across the city – Motion, Colston Hall, O2 Academy Bristol and Basement 45, plus Festival by Day at Trinity.

Previous 6 Music Festivals were held in Manchester (2014) and Tyneside (2015).

Bob Shennan, Controller, BBC Radio 6 Music, says: “This year’s 6 Music Festival in Bristol will bring a feast of entertainment to a city that has a musical story to tell. The Festival will bring together a rich combination of some of the UK’s burgeoning talent including Blossoms and Rozi Plain coupled with 6 Music favourites such Underworld and Laura Marling, fully reflecting 6 Music’s exciting and diverse output.”

BBC Music has partnered with Record Store Day UK as the event gears up for its ninth annual celebration of independent record shops and the vinyl format.

Special programming will take place across the BBC’s radio networks, and in particular on BBC Radio 6 Music. In the run up to Record Store Day, on his 6 Music show Steve Lamacq will be speaking to different record stores around the UK, revealing what events are taking place on the day. It is expected that more than 25,000 music fans will be going along to their local record shops from the early hours on Saturday 16 April.

Also on 6 Music, Lauren Laverne’s show will be broadcasting live from a record store on Friday 15 April.

James Stirling, Editor of BBC Music, says: “BBC Music is always keen to support moments that unite people through their love of music. Record Store Day does exactly that and we are very happy to be officially involved this year.”

Rupert Morrison, of The Drift Record Shop in Totnes, says: “The BBC has an utterly unique voice and is an organisation like no other on the planet. Their commitment to promoting music and artists, both breaking and established, is hugely important and a perfect partner for all of the record shops under the Record Store Day banner.”

Record Store Day launched in the UK in 2008 and has since recruited over 220 independent record shops across the UK to take part in the event, with keen record buyers queuing through the night to secure limited edition records. Vinyl has always been a core part of the event since its launch, and Record Store Day has in turn spearheaded the UK vinyl revival as sales topped 2.1m units in 2015.

Absolute Radio is launching a new series of Saturday night shows hosted by a number of musicians.

The Bauer station says they’ll have total artistic freedom as they choose the music, tell the stories behind the songs, invite their own guests and bring in their instruments to jam on air.

Noel Gallagher will also be hosting a one-off show, with comedian Matt Morgan, on Monday 15th February 9-11pm.

The shows are celebrating Absolute Radio’s Real Music Matters Campaign.

Jim Kerr said “From the early days right up to the current! Please listen in to my show on Absolute Radio as I play and talk passionately about the music and artists that have entertained and influenced me through the ages.”

Digital radio is now standard in 80% of new cars, Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, announced today.

Data from industry analysts CAP and The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) for Q4 2105 shows that the number of new cars fitted with digital radio as standard grew to 80.1%, compared to 7.5% in Q4 2010 and 61.2% in Q4 2014. This is the second biggest quarterly increase since monitoring began in 2010.

A further 7% of all new cars had digital radio available as an option, taking the total proportion of new cars available with digital radio in Q4 2015 to nearly 90%.

Ed Vaizey, Minister for Culture and the Digital Economy, said: “With 8 out of 10 new cars coming with digital radio, the future of radio is clearly digital and growing every year. Government is working closely with industry on the continued expansion of DAB digital radio, meaning listeners around the UK now have more stations than ever to choose from.”

In total 1.9 million cars were sold with DAB as standard in 2015, accounting for 71% of the year’s record annual total sales of 2.6 million. All of the top 10 new car models have digital radio fitted as standard.

Sales of commercial vehicles with DAB as standard also saw record growth increasing to 40% in December 2015, up from 28.3% in December 2014. This means van drivers can benefit from the expanded choice that is only available from digital radio when they are on the move.

Mike Hawes, CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, says: “Vehicle manufacturers continue to invest heavily in new audio technologies to enhance the listening experience for motorists. That fact that digital radio is now available in nearly 90% of new cars is testament to growing consumer demand for these technologies and we expect uptake to continue rising in the coming months and years.”

Ford Ennals, CEO of Digital Radio UK, says: “It’s great news that the number of new cars with digital radio as standard is now at 80% and that 40% of commercial vehicles sold in December came with digital radio as standard. With more stations launching, coverage expanding and the range of adaptors growing there’s never been a better time to listen to digital radio on the move.”

The DAB slot currently used by Smile Sussex will be changing under new owners UKRD.

Smile Sussex, which plays ‘Big Band, Pop Standards, Swing Style, Rat Pack attitude and a touch of Jazz’, will be removed from the Sussex mux and replaced by Oldies Sussex which will play oldies music for a 50+ audience.

Smile Sussex will then continue on the local minimux test for Brighton.

The changes come from UKRD, which now owns the majority of Brighton and Hove Radio Ltd, the parent company of Smile Sussex and Juice 107.2.

Test transmissions for Oldies start from 11th January 2016 ahead of full service in February 2016. RadioToday has been in touch with UKRD who will confirm more details of the new station in January.

UKRD also operates Pirate Oldies in Cornwall on DAB.

London community radio station Resonance FM has started a second service, on DAB in Brighton.

Resonance Extra is on the Brighton and Hove Radio digital multiplex, broadcasting 24 hours a day with a focus on new music, sound art and experimentation.

The station says there will be programmes by The Wire magazine, ‘whose Adventures in Music and Sound is a by word for intelligent eclecticism; MogaDisco, collectors of Africa’s finest recordings; and fine artist Bob and Roberta Smith, whose Make Your Own Damn Music is a haven of ramshackle charm’.

Resonance Extra programmer and University of Sussex graduate Peter Lanceley says: “I am thrilled to get this unique and exciting project off the ground and to bring innovative sounds from around the globe to a city renowned for its new music.”

Brighton and Hove Radio chair Daniel Nathan is equally enthusiastic: “It’s very exciting that the technology we developed and tested here in Brighton is opening up the airwaves to radical innovation and experimentation of the kind we will enjoy from Resonance Extra.”